


Home

by LeChatRouge673



Series: Wildflower [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 02:31:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10427178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeChatRouge673/pseuds/LeChatRouge673





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Miss_ragdoll84](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_ragdoll84/gifts).



The moons were already halfway though their solemn procession in the expanse of the sky, their stately waltz lingering longer in the nights of autumn than it had during the warm, brief nights of summer. Cataline Cousland pulled her cloak tighter around her, the whispers of the chill night air kissing against every patch of exposed skin, and she briefly rued her insistence on leaving Denerim so late in the day, but she had so badly wanted to return to the Vigil. To _him_. No, no matter how late she was getting back, it would be worth it to see his face when she met him in the training yard first thing in the morning, before everyone else was awake.

 

_Of course_ , she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a wide yawn, _which will require that I am even able to wake myself up that early_.

 

Cat had initially meant to leave the capital city at first light the next morning… or was it this morning, now? She glanced up at the position of the stars. It was certainly almost midnight, if not just past. Her business at court had taken longer than planned, and Anora had tried to persuade her to stay one more night, but Cataline would not be swayed. She had been away from home long enough.

 

Home. It was still a strange concept, after being a wanderer for so long. The last place she had called home had been stolen from her, and it had nearly destroyed her as surely as if her own heart had been ripped from her chest. It was ironic, then, that she should have found sanctuary here, in Amaranthine. Perhaps it was simply the Maker’s twisted way of seeing judgement done: Rendon Howe had tried to take her home. Now she had taken his.

 

After what felt like an eternity, Cataline finally guided her horse through the gates of Vigil’s Keep, giving a brief smile and nod to the night watchman who called down a quiet hail. She stabled Jasmine, giving the beautiful palomino an extra apple for the mare’s faithful service bearing her rider through the night. When she slipped into the main hall, she was not surprised to find it nearly empty save for the servants responsible for keeping the hearth fires going. They nodded respectfully as she passed, and Cat stopped long enough to ask one of them to draw a bath in her old room.

 

Her tread was quiet on the stone stairs, the habit born of long years training as a rogue. Even with all her composure, she still felt her heartbeat quicken when she passed his door. _Their_ door. For a brief moment, her resolve wavered, and she had to resist the urge to wake him and kiss him and melt under the sensation of his hands tracing every inch of her body like they always did when she came home after being away. But she knew that he would be asleep at this hour, or at least she hoped he would be, and she did not want to wake him. With a tiny sigh, Cat moved on to the room she had claimed as her own when she had first come to the vigil. She barely used it now, but it would do for tonight.

 

When she had finally bathed the grime of the road from her hair and skin, she carefully combed out her long, ginger hair and sat by the crackling fire, wrapped in her favorite robe. It wasn’t hers, actually. It was his, and she had commandeered it after their last bath together, and all he’d been able to do was give her that rare smile that only she ever got to see. He had told her it looked better on her anyways, but that it would look even better on the floor. _And he was right_ , she grinned to herself. Cat held the simple linen close to her nose and inhaled deeply, breathing in his scent and once again debating whether or not to go down the hall and slip into bed beside him.

 

Another sigh, more frustrated this time. Cataline tucked her feet up beneath her and reached for the book she had been reading before she left. She had been irritated that she had left it behind, as she had just been getting to the good part, but now she was grateful that she had a distraction readily at hand. Her mind lost itself in the story while she waited for the warmth of the fire to dry her hair. Finally, as the flames died down to embers, she set the book aside and crawled into bed, still clinging to his robe against her otherwise bare skin.

 

The bed that she had once fallen into with such ready exhaustion now felt empty and cold, and Cat had trouble getting comfortable. She had only just found a position that seemed tolerable when she felt the mattress shift as someone slipped in beside her, and an arm wrapped around her waist. She smiled.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home tonight, my Wildflower?” Nathaniel’s voice was a soft whisper against her ear, his lips trailing kisses against her temple and down along her cheek until she turned so that she could face him and meet his mouth with her own.

 

“To be honest, I hadn’t planned on it, and then when I made the decision to make the journey I thought I would just surprise you tomorrow morning,” she murmured when she finally managed to pull away. “I know how hard you’ve been working, training the others, and I know you don’t sleep well when I’m gone. I didn’t think I should wake you.”

 

“Mmm,” his voice was muffled against her shoulder, his lips resuming their path down her neck and along her collarbone. “Cataline, I _always_ want to see you the moment you come home. I do not care if I have am getting the first rest I have had in a month: having you back safe and sound in my arms would be worth waking up for. I love you.”

 

Her heart swelled. No matter how many times he spoke the words, they still sent butterflies racing through her stomach and stars shooting behind her eyes. No matter how many sideways glances they were subject to, or how many confused whispers, Cataline would never give a damn about any of it, because she was in love with Nathaniel, and there was no question in her mind that he loved her.

 

She nestled up against him, and her breath caught in her throat when she felt his practiced hand slip beneath her robe, cupping her breast in his palm and stroking it gently. A soft moan escaped her throat, and she felt him smile against the tender skin of her neck. His fingers drifted slowly down her stomach, tracing an agonizingly slow line down to her waist where they deftly undid the tied that held the garment closed, exposing her skin to his touch.

 

“We should both get some rest,” she admonished, but she couldn’t keep the slight edge of need from her tone. “You have to be tired.”

 

“I am not _that_ tired,” Nathaniel countered, his free hand pushing the simple cotton pants he wore to bed to the floor before circling his arms around her waist and pulling her towards him so that she could feel his hardened length against her hips. Cat slipped the robe off of her shoulders, pressing her bare body against his and tilting her neck back to allow him to kiss her throat before his lips drifted down to suck gently on her nipple, teasing it with his tongue until it had stiffened into a hard peak while his fingers toyed with her other breast.

 

“Oh Cat…” he whispered, bowing his head against her chest, his hair brushing her skin lightly and sending a pleasant shiver down her spine, “I missed you.”

 

“I missed you, Nathaniel,” she replied back fervently. “I love you.”

 

“I love you.” His mouth replaced his hand at her breast, his fingers drifting down her side to rest briefly on her hip and then settling between her legs. He teased lightly at her entrance, pressing gentle kisses against her forehead and cheeks before slipping a single finger inside her waiting heat, and then a second, his thumb rubbing patient circles against her clit. Cat arched her back, desperate for more. She could feel herself getting close, the tension rising at her core and burning like wildfire through her veins. Just as she was about to fall blissfully over the edge, Nathaniel pulled away.

 

Cat’s lips settled into the pout she knew he couldn’t say no to. “I thought you said you weren’t tired?” She taunted, her voice a challenge and an invitation all at the same time. “Maybe we should just-”

 

The rest of her sentence was silenced as his mouth pressed against hers, all passion and fire, his tongue flicking against her lips as she deepened their kiss, pulling Nathaniel as close to her as she could and losing herself in him. Her head was spinning, and if there was a world outside of his arms she was no longer aware of it, nor did she care.

 

“Did I say we were finished?” Nathaniel’s voice, always so even and so cool, was warm in her ear. Despite the heat in his tone, the hand he ran along her cheek was gentle, and Cat leaned into his touch. “I can practically feel the knots in your back, and we are not going any further until you let me do something about it. This is exactly why you shouldn’t push yourself so hard when riding.”

 

“I couldn’t help it,” she protested in mock indignation, “I haven’t seen you for a damn fortnight, and I missed- mmmm,” she moaned when he rolled his hips against hers, the insistent jut of his cock rubbing against her thigh. “ _That_. You. Always you.”

 

Lifting her gently into his arms, he held her for a moment, their bodies intertwined and his forehead pressed gently against hers. His hands began running up and down the length of her back. With the same flawless precision he used with the bow, his touches found the spots along her spine that he knew took the most damage when she rode for too long, massaging the muscles and smiling slightly whenever she let out a hiss or groan of pleasure.

 

Seemingly satisfied that he had eased the last of the tension from her muscles, Nathaniel lowered her gently back against the bed, kissing her softly. Cat’s breath caught as he slid inside of her, his cock filling her in the best way possible and sending sparks coursing through her veins like lightning. He rocked his hips against hers, slowly, taking the time to fully enter her with every stroke while his hands caressed her breasts, her waist, her hips… every touch a promise and a prayer.

 

“Nathaniel…” she whimpered, her arms twining around his neck and her body arching up against his, desperate to close the distance between them. He bent down and brushed a single kiss against her lips, his hand slipping back down to her clit and resuming the torturous pattern he had teased her with earlier. Once more, she could feel fire building in her core, the heat threatening to overwhelm her. She was vaguely aware of her nails raking down Nathaniel’s back and her hands grasping his hips, and then her climax pushed her over the edge and everything faded into a haze of pleasure. Moments later, she heard a sharp intake of breath and a long groan as he followed her.

 

He settled beside her, his arms still holding her close. They kissed, long, lazy caresses of lips and tongue and hands. She nuzzled up against his chest, letting the steady rhythm of his heartbeat soothe her.

 

“Welcome home, Wildflower,” he murmured, pulling the covers up over them.

 

She smiled. It had been a long, strange road that had led her here, into the arms of perhaps the most unlikely of lovers, but she would not trade this moment for anything in the world.

 

_Welcome home._

 

 

 

 


End file.
